Storm door side rail construction



Sept. 6, 1960 N. ARMENTI ETAL STORM DOOR SIDE RAIL CONSTRUCTION Filed April 8. 1959 INVENTORS A4 141% 417? United States Patent STORM DOOR SIDE RAIL CONSTRUCTION Natale Armenti and Ralph A. Armenti, both of Worcester, Mass. (Both N. Armenti & Sons, 516 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury, Mass.)

Filed Apr. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 804,921

2 Claims. (Cl. 189-46) This invention relates to a new and improved side rail construction for metallic doors, and more particularly the principal object of the invention resides in the provi sion of a stronger and more rigid side rail and cross rail member support as well as a new and improved side rail adapter rendering the metallic door stronger and less liable to distortion or warping; and the provision of a side rail member including a complete box-like construction in and of itself forming a more solid and stronger base for the side rail adapter and the other more conventional door parts.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation illustrating the invention, parts being broken away and in sections; and

Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Metallic doors of the kind concerned here are usually formed of aluminum or aluminum alloy and some parts are extruded and made to fit each other without the necessity of excessive machine operation. In the present case, the invention is directed to the side rail member construction and an adapter therefor, and this side rail is indicated generally at 10. This side rail may be referred to as a vertical rail or stile.

At the bottom of the door, there is a bottom rail generally indicated at 12 and this interfits and is connected to the side rail in any way desired. Connected to the bottom rail 12 and to the side rail 10 and of course to the other side rail opposite and complementary to the side rail 10 and not shown herein, there is a kick-plate which is herein generally indicated at 14. This kickplate is held in position as will be described hereinafter.

The door construction also ordinarily includes an intermediate cross member above the kick-plate and a top rail member complementary to that at 12, as well as the usual window pane, louvres or the like constructions, none of which are pertinent to the particular invention involved herein.

One of the greatest problems involved in the manufac ture and use of storm doors of the class described herein resides in the fact that they are light weight and apt to be deflected or warped under conditions of use. As will be made more apparent hereinafter, the side rails in this case are provided with a novel construction that makes the door a great deal stronger and resistant to fiexure.

The side rail 10 comprises a longitudinal edge member 16, see Fig. 2, and a pair of extending parallel spaced side wall members 18 and 20. The side wall members 18 and 20 terminate in thickened end or terminal portions 22 and 24 and inwardly from the extreme ends of these thickened members, there is a solid transverse shelf member 26 which extends from end-to-end of the side rail and from side-to-side thereof parallel to the edge member 16.

2,951,566 Patented Sept. 6, 1960 It will be seen that this construction is a simple one but nevertheless it provides an extremely strong box-like construction for the stile or vertical rail 10, and therefore it resists twisting, bending or flexure. Due to the thickening of the portions 22 and 24, the strength of this box-like construction is maintained at all points thereof, even though the partition at 26 is spaced inwardly from the ends thereof. The rail 10 is open between the terminal portions of the members at 22 and 24.

A side rail adapter is mounted between the thickened portions 22 and 24 and rests solidly on shelf 26 and this side rail adapter is adapted to hold or position the kick-plate 14 and any other parts such as glass, windowpanes, etc. The side rail adapter also straightens the parts to some degree but it is to be observed that the anti-flexing properties of the construction depend more upon the box-like construction thereof as above described.

The side rail adapter comprises a pair of parallel spaced legs 28, 30 which have outside surfaces conforming to and slidably tightly engaged with the interior surfaces of the thickened portions 22 and 24. Leg 28 extends directly inwardly in a flat portion 32 and leg 30 extends inwardly at a 45 angle in a member 34, the latter terminating in an extension 36.

Extension 36 overlies a continuous trough which is defined by the member indicated generally at 38 which lies between and is connected to portion 32 and portion 34 as plainly shown in Fig. 2. This provides a construction between extension 36 and the trough 38 for the reception of the kick-plate 14 and its connection means indicated generally at 40, the exact details of which form no part of the present invention. The glass is held in any similar way desired.

It will be seen that this provides an extremely strong and rigid construction for a side rail of a metallic door. The legs 28 and 30 of the side rail adapter are coterminus with the end portions of the thickened parts 22 and 24 and these latter parts are rounded olf as indicated at 42 forming a very neat appearing construction. The outer surface of the portion 32 is co-extensive with the outer edge of the rounded-off portion of the terminal portion 22 and the 45 angular member 34 extends directly from the inner edge of the corresponding portion of the end part member 24, providing a neat and strong construction, which is rigid and long-lasting as compared to similar constructions of the prior art.

The partition or shelf 26 forms a cross member which is useful as a base for fasteners, when jalousies or other frames are to be fastened to the stile and such fasteners may be placed in any location and in any spacing desired along the entire length of the partition 26.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we do not wish to be limited. to the details of construction herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what is claimed is:

l. A metallic door construction comprising a longitudinal side rail, a bottom rail connected thereto, and a side rail adapter element associated with the side rail, the latter comprising a single extruded hollow metal member including a longitudinal edge member, a pair of spaced parallel side wall members, the edge member extending transversely to the side wall members at corresponding edges of the latter, a flat solid transverse partition between the side wall members and parallel to and spaced from the edge member, the hollow space between the latter, the partition and the side wall members being wholly enclosed, a flat projecting terminal portion on each side wall member, said edge member, side wall members, partition, and the projecting terminal portions all being in a single integral piece, and the partition being straight and at a right angle to the side wall members throughout its length from one side wall member to the other, said projecting portions being substantially coplanar with the side wall members and extending beyond the partition normal thereto, the said rail adapter element being at least partially received between the side wall terminal portions and contacting and resting on the partition, said adapter element being of extruded metal and extending, along the side rail and comprising a pair of spaced parallel fiat legs flatly contacting and held therebetween by the side wall terminal portions throughout the length of the flat legs and of the projecting portions, the ends of the legs contacting the partition, means connecting the legs and forming a trough, and a door element held in the trough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,574,493 Leonard Feb. 23, 1926 1,642,553 Nyman Sept. 13, 1927 2,752,014 Watson June 26, 1956 

